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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. row — a line
  5. content — the amount
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a line of people
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. board — to get on
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — happy
  14. file — a document
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — money
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com